Choosing 2-3 bases in Scotland with young children
 

My husband and I are considering a 12 night trip to Scotland in late April, flying in/out of Glasgow. We have two kids (ages 1.5 and 5.5) so we'd prefer to pick 2-3 bases where we spend 3-4 nights and visit a few sights in the immediate area (within one hour drive). We are most interested in castles (especially ruins), prehistoric sites, nice scenery, and any unique kid friendly attractions. We prefer to stay in towns that are big enough to have a few restaurants to choose from, and hopefully a playground.

I've spent many hours researching this, and the more time I spend, the more confused I get about where to go! Originally I was thinking Edinburgh, Oban, and somewhere in the Highlands. I'm having trouble figuring out a Highlands base, and I have marked so many places to visit as a day trip from Edinburgh that I'm wondering if I should nix Edinburgh entirely and stay somewhere in the Borders area instead. We are not really set on any location at this point, and I'd love to hear any recommendations!

Your options are almost limitless really. One thing -- I assume you will be using a stroller for the 1.5 yo?? If so, Edinburgh will be more difficult than many places. Very hilly and lots of cobbles/stone paving. So -- even though Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities on Earth (and as long as you could visit on some future trip when the kids are older) you might want to skip the city.

The Borders would be good. Or Deeside could be a good base -- someplace like Ballater would put your w/i easy drives of tones of castles and great scenery.

Or -- Fife would be Terrific IMO/IME. St Andrews, fishing villages, castles, the Scottish Deer Centre http://www.tsdc.co.uk

Or basing somewhere w/i maybe 10 or 15 miles of Inverness -- dolphins, castles, boat rides etc.

Or base in the Trossachs - like Callander. Lakes/lochs, waterfalls, boat rides etc.

The Borders is lovely and is an area most people dash through on their way north without bothering to stop. Think about Peebles or Galashiels/Melrose area. There is now a train service from Galashiels to Edinburgh. There are ruined abbeys of melrose, Dryburgh and Jedburgh. There is Traquair house - one of the oldest inhabited castles in Scotland with a maze.... There is the ruined Hume castle as well as Tantallon and Dirleton... as well as Smailholme Tower.

If you haven't already found this website, it is worth spending some time with teh maps and clicking on the place names to find all sorts of things to do and see in the area.
http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/

Another suggestion for the Highlands is Nairn, just a few miles from Inverness. This also has a beach which would be a good place for the children to run off excess energy. Don't bither with Cawdor Castle, although teh gardens are lovely, the inside of the castle is a bit pedestrian. For ruined castles, there is Duffus, Spynie Palace, Balvenie, Auchindour, Huntley... as well as the ruined Elgin Abbey. (Check them out on Undiscovered Scotland.) The small fishing villages along the Moray Firth are also worth visiting.
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Id also agree that Fife is also worth looking at. I love St Andrews with its ruined castle and abbey.

Late April can be lovely, or it can be wet, but - generally - more so in the west of the country, as the weather comes off the Atlantic. It will also be less spring-like the farther north you go, so I'd probably limit my range accordingly. Flying in and out of GLA you'd also be a long way from Aberdeenshire, Nairn and all that; not a huge barrier but possibly some longish hours in the car with kids (and potentially with iffy weather) which might not be ideal.

<i>We are most interested in castles (especially ruins), prehistoric sites, nice scenery, and any unique kid friendly attractions.</i>

Oban sounds good for these aims; you've got spectacular Highland scenery and castles on Mull, more castles on the mainland near Oban (Stalker Castle) and near Kilmartin, prehistoric sites galore in Kilmartin itself (an easy day trip from Oban) and the Sea Life Sanctuary - https://www2.visitsealife.com/oban/ - for the kids.

My second suggested base might seem a little unexpected as it's not in Scotland at all, but I'd look at Alnwick in Northumberland, around 25 miles south of the Scottish border. Alnwick is a big enough town to offer the kind of services you desire, and it's an easy central point from which to take easy day trips to numerous castles - Bamburgh, Alnwick Castle itself, many others.. plus the fascinating Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, lovely coastal villages from Craster up to Bamburgh and over the border to St. Abbs... You could even visit Hadrian's Wall near Hexam or Housesteads with a fairly easy drive each way. There are a number of family-friendly activities in the area, although some are probably seasonal - http://www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk/s...Northumberland

This also isn't close to Glasgow and the west, but I think the variety of things to see in the area is pretty exceptional.

Possible schematic route - https://goo.gl/maps/eGH7gducURv
You could also travel between the west coast and the east coast via the Borders (Peebles, Melrose etc.) if you didn't want to head as far south as Hadrian's Wall (which as I said is an easy day trip from a base in Alnwick.)

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm looking into all of them further. What town do you think would make a good base for exploring the Fife area?

Crail, or St Andrews . . .

or book a unit here http://www.kilconquharcastle.co.uk/accommodation.html

It is very nice a resort just inland from Elie/St Monans and a great base for all of Fife